Office Policy
by llAurorall
Summary: Myka is told she is no longer allowed to be romantically involved with Helena. Bering & Wells (M)


Office Policy

The office was quiet. Beyond the shadowed room the warehouse was dark; empty. The occasional sound from computers could be heard, churning through data in search of the next artefact. At any other time the atmosphere would have been soothing.

In her current state, Myka was fit to kill.

As if sensing Myka's imminent implosion, Artie took a step back. He watched her. Wary. Almost afraid.

"You can't be serious," she said, voice strained. "Artie, this is ridiculous."

Artie put up his hands. "Not my decision, Myka."

"Not your decision? So it's the Regents? They ordered this?" She balled her fists. "And we're listening to them now?"

Artie removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He looked exhausted but Myka was beyond caring about his wellbeing. Not when her own happiness hung in the balance. She watched her mentor, a man who was often so much more than just her teacher, anger surging anew within her chest.

"You agreed with them," Myka said, slowly. The words were bitter in her mouth. The truth of them was in Artie's startled expression. "You tell us, all of us, all the time, that we can't let the Warehouse be our lives. We have to get out and _live_, because we never know when it might end.

"I did what you wanted." Myka willed the tears back. "I did what you wanted; I got a life, I fell in love and I'm happy, Artie. I'm _happy_." She bit her lip. "Please don't let them take that away from me. From us."

"I didn't mean her," Artie said angrily. "Anyone but her."

Myka reared back as if slapped. In that moment, she did not know Arite at all. "I can't believe you... She has done everything we ever asked of her." She laughed; a dark, mirthless sound that festered with rage. "She's never going to be good enough for you, is she?"

"She's not good enough for you."

"That isn't your decision," Myka shot back furiously. It was Artie's turn to look as though physically struck. He stared at Myka with his mouth open, jaw working soundlessly.

"Effective immediately, you and HG are no more. Am I understood?"

Everything in Myka told her to take the high road. She could rail about Artie's less-than-professional relationship with Vanessa. She could throw all of Artie's problems with the astrolabe at him and dare him to deny he had done far worse than Helena ever had. She had the power to cut Artie down so small he would never say another word against the woman she loved. She was not sure what kept it all in.

She pursed her lips. After a few measured beats she nodded her head. She left the warehouse before he could say another word; provoke her into releasing all her pent-up fury. It would do neither of them any good.

Outside, the night-time air helped too cool Myka's outrage. She took deep breaths and watched them form chalky clouds once released. A shiver wracked her frame. Gooseflesh rose on her arms.

Her first instinct was to go home; to Helena. She could fall into the other woman's arms and be as weak as she needed to be. If only for a little while. She had never valued that in a partner; had never ever felt safe enough to let her guard down. Helena was her exception to so many rules she vowed never to break. The thought brought a reluctant smile to her lips.

Instead of heading home, Myka turned toward the desert. The swollen moon above provided all the light she needed to scale the sand dunes. It was heavy going in places and the exertion served to burn away more of her anguish. By the time she stopped, panting at the top of a hill, the warehouse was but a small building in the distance.

Myka flopped down onto her backside. She reclined back to watch the stars above, winking from a limitless sky. She picked out familiar constellations; Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Minor. The last time she had stopped to stargaze had been shortly after Helena had come back to the warehouse. Myka had found her one night, a concentrated frown on her face.

"You lose something," Myka had said, grinning as Helena jumped.

"Familiar skies," Helena confessed. She looked back to the heavens. "I know these constellations." She picked a few out and Myka did not have the heart to tell her she knew them too. "But they're not the ones I'm used to seeing."

The look of longing on Helena's face was not one Myka would ever forget. She could not fathom the feeling of displacement; not only physical but temporal. Her only regret was that she had not addressed it sooner. When she might have spared Helena, and herself, the heartache.

Falling in love was never part of her plan. Not after Sam. By the time she realised she was in love, somewhere between a hand around Helena's throat and a gun to her head, it was too late to deny it. What came as more of a surprise was realising she had been waiting for love again, even though she thought it beyond her. And it would be H.G. Wells to make her realise it.

Before her now, Myka was faced with the possibility of losing either the love of her life, or the life she loved. Her anger at Artie swelled anew.

She wanted to be emotional about it; to rant and rage against the injustice of it all. But she had never been very good at that. Her attachment to logic and level-headedness was both her strength and her weakness.

After a long assessment of not only her feelings but the likelihood of them lasting, as well as what downside they presented, it did not surprise her to realise there was only one thing in her life she could not live without.

Myka groaned as she stood; stiff and sore from sitting so long. She was taken aback to see the first hint of light over the horizon. She looked back to the warehouse and further still to the lights of Univille. A fresh wave of excitement bubbled under skin. Her pulse picked up with her feet and she was careening down sandy slopes before she knew it.

She covered the distance to the warehouse in no time at all. The further she ran, the more energy she seemed to have. She practically sprinted past the warehouse entrance and on to Univille. The desert tracks led on to highway but instead of following them, Myka scaled an embankment and forged into the woods. Her route would cut out the circuitous path the roads took and shave a good hour from her run.

The woodland trails were thankfully well travelled. After a few minutes expending more effort hopping over prolific undergrowth than making ground, Myka burst out on to the clear paths and picked up speed again. She dodged low hanging branches and jumped over roots reaching up to grab her ankles. It was the most alive she had felt in recent history; that did not involve some sort of apocalyptic catastrophe.

The bed and breakfast appeared in the distance. Beyond the tree line was their garden of wildflowers, leading up to the conservatory doors. A light was burning low on the porch and Myka smiled.

With a final burst of speed, legs heavy but spirit still light, Myka made for home. She was sweaty and breathless as she reached the porch. Sunrise had chased her all the way. The sky was now a palette of greens and purples. A few defiant stars blinked back at her.

Myka tiptoed through the house and up the stairs. She bypassed her own room and went straight to Helena's. She had not been stood there a minute when the door opened. Helena, looking remarkably awake, raised a single, curious, eyebrow.

"Agent Bering... A little early for you, isn't it?"

Myka, still breathless, broke out into a grin. "I've been running."

"I gathered." Helena's gaze, starting at her toes and working up, swept the length of Myka's body. She shivered under it. "In the desert it would seem." Myka noted the sand on her boots. "Do you want to talk about whatever is bothering you?"

"Why would something be bothering me?"

Helena laughed. A rich, care-free sound. Myka's stomach flip-flopped and her grin turned dopey. Helena pointed at her boots. "Darling, no one goes running in shoes like that unless they are decidedly preoccupied."

"I'll never get anything past you, will I?"

"I sincerely hope not," Helena said. She smiled. Teasing. "Where are my manners? Would you like to come in?"

Thinking she would sound desperate, even though she was, Myka merely nodded and stepped inside. Helena shut the door behind her and they were submerged into the half-light of a single candle. A pile of haphazardly strewn papers covered Helena's desk. A pen lay forgotten over them.

"Were you writing?" The hope in her voice was child-like.

Helena hummed agreement. The sound came teasingly close to her ear. Myka turned, not surprised to find Helena almost flush against her. Her breath, still laboured, played in the inky darkness of Helena's hair.

"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind, love?"

Myka's gaze jumped from landmark to landmark on Helena's face; eyes to lips; the proud arch of cheekbones and further south to a full mouth. "I love you," she said. It came without thought and Myka blushed a little.

Helena's breath stalled. Poignant in the silence. She licked her lips and Myka swayed, lightheaded. They had never declared their feelings before this. Not that they weren't obvious.

"And this is what sent you running into the wilds at an ungodly hour of the morning? What brought you to my door, as if chased by the hounds of hell?"

Myka's hand, wholly without her consent, rose to cup Helena's cheek. She brushed her thumb back and forth over her jaw. "I wanted to see you," she said. She looked into Helena's eyes, dark in the mellow light, reflecting the lone candle flame. "Just you."

"Myka, take care." Helena placed her hand atop Myka's. She leaned into their combined touch, eyes fluttering closed. "There are some things you cannot take back once you have given them life."

"I love you," Myka said, in utter defiance. She pressed forward, sealing her words with a kiss. One of them gasped. Helena's lower lip slid between her own and Myka was home. Her touch became restless. Her hands sifted through fine hair and traced smooth curves. Heart beating fast again. Hard. Pounding against her breastbone with an excitement she could barely control.

She moved closer. Her kiss remained light but her hands were intent. A single button slid through fabric, a fingernail marking deeply-flushed skin beneath.

Helena pulled back with a groan. Her brow was furrowed. She licked her lips a few times and when she spoke, her voice was a lot deeper than it had been.

"Are you sure about this," she said. The struggle on her face was clear for Myka to see. "Are you sure about me, Myka?"

Rather than be offended, Myka laughed softly. She brushed loose threads of hair behind Helena's ears. "Have I ever given you a reason to think I'm not serious? About _everything_?"

Helena looked up at her then. A shine in her eyes that had not been there a moment ago. "Myka, I am not a good sort of person." Shame and guilt flooded her face. "I... I have never been anyone's idea of an ideal partner. But I am, helplessly, deeply, in love. With you... So I need you to be sure about this." She swallowed and Myka's heart swelled. "This is the edge of my reason. You are my exception. I have struggled to maintain my distance and I have managed thus far. But if you... If I surrender to this. To you, my love... I shan't be able to go back."

Myka thought about Artie; about the ultimatum she faced. Helena looked up at her, small and fragile; so unlike the rogue who had challenged her to see the world differently. The woman who owned her now. Heart and soul.

There was never any choice.

"I want this," Myka said. She left no room for doubt. She cupped Helena's face in both hands and kissed her deeply. "Only you."

Helena shuddered; a visible weight lifting from her. Her hands shook as she placed them on Myka's body. Her efforts were uncoordinated at best and Myka tried not to laugh as they both struggled to get closer. In truth, she was just as overwhelmed as Helena.

They shuffled toward the bed, tripping over each other in efforts to remove clothing. Myka's shirt went first; peeled from her flushed and damp skin, sending sand skittering everywhere. Helena tucked into her shoulder and kissed her throat, moving down, tracing taught muscles with her tongue. Myka tilted to let her get closer, groaning as teeth scraped against her collarbone.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this." Myka bucked, Helena's hands squeezing her backside. A riot of curls shrouded their faces as she leaned down to claim Helena's mouth.

Whatever Helena might have said in return was lost as Myka divested her of her shirt. The garment pooled, forgotten, about their feet. With a determined push against her sternum, Myka sent Helena sprawling back across her bed. Her mouth dried up. Her heart thumped out of time and she absently thought she might be having a heart attack.

Helena, propped on her elbows, regarding Myka from under heavy lids, licked her lips. Her pale, lean body was on full display. Long, ebony hair curled over her shoulders to the swells of her breasts. Beneath the lacy bra, her chest was heaving. The candle threw into relief the tight, well developed muscles of her stomach. A cherry-red flush was gaining ground up her neck. She was everything Myka had ever fantasised about. And so much more.

Slowly, teasing, Myka dipped her thumbs into her jeans and inched them down her thighs. She watched Helena watch her. Her teeth gripped her lip and her fingers knotted into the bed sheets. Once around her ankles, Myka kicked the jeans away. Helena was apparently unaware of the sound she made at seeing her almost bare.

She had never been insecure about her body. It was much like Helena's; lean, muscled and littered with scrapes and scars. A body used yet cared for. She was proud of it. If Helena's blatantly sexual appreciation of her was anything to go by, she still had nothing to be concerned over.

"Here," Helena demanded. Her voice was gravelly and thick. "Now."

Myka debated teasing. Briefly. Helena, no doubt seeing the glint in her eye, sat forward, gripped her hips and pulled her down. She fell into a kiss, thighs bracketing Helena's hips. The rasp of skin against cotton made her head spin.

Torturously slow, Myka slid Helena's bra straps over her shoulders. Helena tossed her head back as fingers danced across her breasts before slipping around to the clasp. She arched, panting, fingers tight in Myka's russet hair as the garment came free.

One lone thought barrelled through Myka's mind; how had she controlled herself for so long? Had she known her would-be-lover was a deity, she would have done this _much_ sooner. The second she laid eyes on her even.

Helena whimpered her name as she bent to kiss the curve of a breast. Myka followed the delicate contour, nipping pale skin as she discovered and explored. She hissed a breath later. Angry lines scoring down her back as her lips wrapped around a proud nipple.

What followed was a litany of curses and pleas. Helena's calf brushed against her thigh, heel ploughing down in search of traction. Her hips became restless, yearning, rocking into Myka without control. Myka continued her attentions to her breasts, only moving on when she thought Helena could stand no more. She moved up Helena's writhing form, painting her pale skin with open-mouthed kisses. She laved at Helena's pulse, a wave of heat collecting low in her belly at the helpless moan she earned.

"You are wearing too many clothes," Myka said. She lipped Helena's ear, sucking the pliant skin into her mouth. Helena turned into her. Demanding; stealing a kiss and forcing her tongue into Myka's mouth without permission.

Myka entertained it for a heartbeat and withdrew. She shimmied down Helena's body, peppering kisses her and there. Helena's fingers folded into her hair as she went. At her trousers Myka stopped. She kissed all along her belly and toyed with the drawstring. She wanted to draw it out but Helena was just as desperate as she was. Seduction could wait for another time. And they would have more time. A lifetime. Eternity; if Myka had her way.

Helena's trousers, light cotton, came away easily. Myka, now stood at Helena's feet, swallowed heavily.

"Now who's over-dressed?" Helena sat up, grinning. Myka reached for Helena when she came close and tangled fingers in her hair. Helena kissed her stomach, above the line of her underwear, her ribs and up to the underside of her breasts. Her breath shuddered out of her lungs.

Helena removed her bra and Myka stopped breathing altogether. She shut her eyes tight, clawing at Helena's shoulders. Moving into her hair. Completely undone by Helena's mouth as it made love to her.

Myka had never been so ready to just be touched already. "Helena..." She moaned, a shudder rolling through the length of her. Helena was back at her underwear, blasts of air penetrating to flushed and eager skin. She had a second to brace herself, Helena's arm snaking around her middle, before a hot tongue roughed over the tacky material. Her knees folded. Blood boiling. Her thighs were shaking. She wobbled under the second pass and Helena finally took pity on her.

Her underwear fell easily from her legs and Myka was pulled back to the bed**.** Helena crawled over her, finally skin to skin. She rocked back as fingers replaced Helena's mouth, sliding through silky heat with ease. Her leg rolled open, body arching for friction. Anything. Something to make the glorious ache in her sex finally amount to something.

Helena did not disappoint. With only a few sure strokes, the knot of need in her hips finally uncoiled like a spring-trap and Myka rocked back with the force of it. She was vaguely aware of Helena whispering in her ear as static fizzled over her skin.

She returned from the stratosphere to see Helena's lazy, content grin. "I love you too," she said quietly. She brushed sweat-matted hair from Myka's forehead.

"We have a lot to talk about," Myka murmured. She took Helena's hand in her own. Her drowsy expression shifted to longing. "But it can wait."

Helena let Myka reverse their positions. "I couldn't agree more..."

Myka pulled up across the street from the _Hawthorne Hotel_. Sitting in the passenger seat, Helena was messing with her earpiece. Again.

"Stop touching," Myka said. She swatted Helena's hand away. "You're supposed to be subtle."

Claudia, sitting in the back, snorted with laughter. "Oh yeah, because you both do subtlety really well."

Myka scowled at her in the rear-view mirror. "Hired help does not get to speak." To her credit, Claudia only laughed harder. When Myka turned to Helena she was not surprised to see a smirk on her lips.

"Okay," Claudia said, slamming both hands on the headrests. "Let's get this over with before I'm forced to be a responsible adult and separate you two."

Myka rolled her eyes. "As if you could ever be responsible, Claude."

"I can be responsible. I simply choose not to be."

Helena started laughing, trying to hide it behind her hand. Myka conceded defeat, if only because she really just wanted to take Helena home. They had managed to keep a low profile since Artie's demand and she was hoping that everything might blow over.

"Does everyone remember the plan?"

Claudia sighed. "I'm the tech support again. I will use my evil powers for good and make sure no one sees what we're up to."

Helena huffed. She had lightened somewhat on the journey but now her displeasure was in full view. "I'm the bait," she said stiffly.

"Not bait. You're the look-out."

Helena rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, darling. Only, last time I checked, it was most certainly the bait that dressed up like a rare prize." Helena stepped out of the car with that. She shucked her jacket and Myka's eyes dilated. Helena was dressed in a strapless black dress. The asymmetrical cut accentuated her shoulders and endless legs. Myka swallowed as Helena fussed anxiously with her hair. She had been the one to zip Helena into the dress and still she was utterly unprepared to see it again.

"Hot damn," Claudia murmured. Myka could not draw her eyes away. Her tongue was thick in her mouth and her fingers were white around the steering wheel. "It's going to be a long night," Claudia added and shuffled out of the car.

Myka counted to ten, praying for clemency, and followed them.

The devil was in attendance. Helena walked ahead of them. Myka could not decide what she wanted to look at more; the play of muscle across Helena's back or the sway of her hips. Or how the dress parted with every second step and Myka could see the flash of an inside-thigh. So enraptured, she tripped up the curb.

Claudia doubled-up laughing. "Oh Mykes, you got it bad."

"You don't even know that half of it."

Myka saw the tail of Helena's dress disappear into the lounge. She was unaccountably bereft. All the more determined to get this over quickly so she could have lover back. She checked her earpiece was working before she and Claudia parted ways.

Myka's job was to snag the artefact; a compass from the _Ellen Austin_, capable of making ships disappear at will. Currently owned by a Mr. James Starling. The head of an already successful shipping enterprise, Starling was in line to make billions with the compass able to eliminate the competition.

Claudia would get her into Starling's room and Helena would keep Starling occupied until they were free and clear.

She hovered outside Starling's room for a few minutes while Claudia worked her magic. For the whole time she was distracted by Helena. She thought of Starling thinking he had a chance, of taking liberties, and a sour taste rose in Myka's mouth. The sooner they were gone the better.

Thankfully, Claudia did not hang around. Myka was in before she could work herself into a frenzy and march downstairs.

Starling's room was one of the more opulently appointed suites. The one side of the room was completely glass and the view was stunning.

It did not take long to find the compass. Myka was adjusting the neutralising unit on her shoulder when Claudia's frantic voice came over the earpiece.

"Myka! Starling's on his way up and I can't reach HG."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I can see her on the security feed. She must have messed up her earpiece or something."

Myka hefted the neutraliser. "Is it too much to ask for just one mission to go through without a hiccup?" Checking the hallway before leaving, Myka turned away from the main elevators. "Claudia, meet me at the service stairs. You can take the artefact and I'll go back for HG."

Claudia was at the stairs before Myka. She took the neutraliser, handed Myka a service weapon, and disappeared back down the stairs. Helena, according to Claudia, had followed Starling from the lounge.

She was turning the corridor when the elevator doors opened. She stopped dead in her tracks.

Helena was there. With Starling. Acid rose in her throat. Her insides bottomed out and she staggered away, unable to blink away the image. Helena's mouth, hungry and determined against Starling; a hand inching dangerously high up Helena's thigh. The possessive sweep of a tongue into Helena's open mouth.

How she made it to the car, Myka did not know. From the stricken look on Claudia's face, she guessed she had seen the security footage. Some twenty minutes later, Helena arrived at the car. She was the picture of dishevelled; lipstick smudged, cheeks pink and hair tousled. Only a dark scowl spoiled the image.

"This useless device stopped working," she said bitterly. She threw the earpiece into the back. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine," Myka said shortly. Claudia kept her gaze averted. "Let's go."

The ride home was deathly silent.

Myka, tears already dry on her cheeks, sat out on the back porch. Beer in hand, she tried to forget everything that had happened. Everyone gave her a wide berth. Even Helena was too afraid to come near her.

It was too good to last.

"I only wanted to protect you," Helena said helplessly. "I did not know what else to do."

Myka harrumphed. "Whatever. I should have known better than to trust you. To think you were the _committed_ type." She saw Helena flinch from the corner of her eye. "Now if you don't mind, I really want to get drunk."

"Myka, please..."

"No!" Myka jumped up from her seat. Her beer went skittering across the table and smashed on the floor. "You don't get to say anything. You don't get to even look at me right now."

She stalked back into the house, practically shoulder-charging Helena on the way. Artie was stood in the living room. She wanted to see him even less than she did Helena.

"I hope you're happy now," Myka said. She sneered at him. "You got what you wanted."

Artie shrugged. "I did." Myka wanted to pull her weapon on him. "Now get some sleep. You've got a mission in the morning."

"You're not my father," Myka said angrily. She stalked right past him and out the front door.

Her first instinct was to run. Run far and hard. Her feet picked up but the little beer she had drunk was too much on an empty stomach. Her body was leaden and her heart the heaviest thing of all. She stumbled down the driveway and out to the main road. She followed the highway aimlessly. Not surprised to find herself at the warehouse eventually.

Where before she might have put herself to work, she kept walking; back into the desert as she had a week ago. To the exact same spot. The sky was clear again and the moon provided all the light she needed.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me."

Myka looked up. Helena was stood at the top of the sandbank. She was breathtaking with the stars as a backdrop. Myka licked her lips. "Were you followed?"

Helena brushed her hair from her face. "No..."

Myka nodded slowly. She looked Helena up and down. She forged up the last of the bank and stopped as close to Helena as physicality would allow.

"You are so..." She slipped her fingers into Helena's hair and cupped the back of her head. She was close enough to feel Helena's shallow breaths, beating against her lips. She kissed her. Because she could; because she had wanted to kiss her every second since last they touched.

Helena was the first to pull back. She rested her forehead against Myka's. "Do you think they believed it?"

Myka smiled. "I believed it," she said. "And I knew you were just acting."

Helena shuddered and Myka pulled her closer, mistaking it for a chill. "Don't ask me to do that again. I would do anything to keep you Myka, but that was..." She swallowed and grimaced. "One of the worst things I have ever done."

"It was all I could think of," Myka said. She could not help the broken tone of her voice. Desperation like this was new to her.

"It's not your fault, love. Nor do I blame you." Helena kissed her, holding firm when Myka tried to withdraw. She settled eventually. The dull ache in her chest beginning to subside.

"We just needed time. They'll work it all out eventually but then it'll be too late." Myka blinked back her frustration. "They can't make me choose."

Helena grinned. "I do love it when you get all obstinate."

Myka laughed. Full, helpless laughter. She squeezed Helena tight and breathed her in. "We'll be okay," she whispered.

"We will," Helena said.

It sounded resolute; final. It sounded like a promise. Myka smiled and sighed and let herself fall into it.

Helena kissed her again, well into the new dawn.

_Aurora _


End file.
